Free Web NovelChapter 176: Chapter 176: Sure to Win My Ass
The night passed without incident.
The sky was just beginning to lighten when Shen Daoxing opened his eyes. He didn’t have a match today and could have stayed behind, but after a moment’s thought, he got out of bed.
When he arrived at the terrace, it was already crowded with people. The Ancient Sword Marquis had arrived particularly early and was already waiting in the center.
As the number one on the Martial Arts Ranking, the Ancient Sword Marquis focused solely on his training and rarely made public appearances. Even fewer had ever seen him fight. Everyone wanted to see the depth of his Martial Arts, and Shen Daoxing was no exception. That was why today’s first match had drawn the most attention.
Soon, many more people arrived, taking their seats in the elegant viewing areas on the nearby Cloud Platforms, waiting with bated breath.
However, before everyone had even settled in...
The man opposite the Ancient Sword Marquis let out a cry and was sent flying off the terrace.
"???"
"It’s over?"
"Did any of you see the Ancient Sword Marquis make a move?"
The crowd hadn’t even seen how the Ancient Sword Marquis had attacked.
But the sharp-eyed Shen Daoxing had seen it. It was a thread of Sword Intent. The moment the match began, a wisp of Sword Intent had shot from the Ancient Sword Marquis’s body, moving at a speed nearly invisible to the naked eye, and had sent his opponent flying in an instant.
And after his opponent flew off the terrace, the Ancient Sword Marquis’s figure flickered and vanished. He didn’t wait for Zhao Wufeng to announce the result, nor did he stay to watch the subsequent matches. He simply left.
"Ancient Sword Marquis is the victor!"
Zhao Wufeng’s voice rang out.
"So this is the power of the Ancient Sword Marquis?"
Everyone gasped in astonishment.
After that, two more people stepped onto the terrace: a prodigy from the top twenty of the Martial Arts Ranking and a genius from the East Continent who had barely passed the three assessments.
As expected, after just a few moves, the genius from the East Continent was crushed in a miserable defeat.
"Cai Ji, Lv Yunsheng."
Zhao Wufeng slowly announced the names for the next match.
Lv Yunsheng tapped his feet lightly and leaped down from the Cloud Platform.
"I am Lv Yunsheng, from Wuyang City in the Martial Kingdom. I do hope Brother Rookie will go easy on me in a moment."
Lv Yunsheng stepped forward and bowed respectfully.
Cai Ji froze. He couldn’t shake the feeling that Lv Yunsheng was insulting him.
"I am Cai Ji, son of King Xuanwei of the Yan Kingdom. You’re too kind, Brother Lv!"
Cai Ji still stepped forward and returned the bow.
His status as a king’s son might allow him to throw his weight around with commoners, but it meant nothing in the Celestial Profound Sacred Land.
Neither of them used a weapon.
After their exchange, Cai Ji struck first, leaping forward to stand before Lv Yunsheng.
"Mountain-Bouncing Earth-Splitting Fist!"
The phantom image of a towering mountain peak materialized behind him.
Then, with the ferocity of a tiger, Cai Ji smashed his fist downward.
Lv Yunsheng showed no weakness, and a dazzling light erupted from within his body.
"Roaring Forest!"
He roared, striking out with a palm that whistled as it tore through the air.
"ROAR—"
A tiger’s roar, powerful enough to shake the entire terrace, erupted from his palm, as if the king of beasts had awoken in the heart of the forest.
"BOOM!"
The fist and palm slammed into each other, exploding in a brilliant flash of light that made the whole terrace tremble.
After dozens of exchanges, the two figures on the terrace repeatedly clashed and separated at high speed, creating a series of explosive sounds. For a time, Cai Ji and Lv Yunsheng seemed evenly matched.
After a period of intense collisions, both of their speeds began to drop. It was clear they couldn’t maintain such a fierce pace indefinitely.
"Mountain-Bouncing Earth-Splitting Fist!"
Cai Ji roared, leaping high into the air. He clasped his hands together into a single fist, raised it above his head, and then brought it crashing down. At the same time, the phantom mountain behind him descended like Mt. Tai itself.
"BOOM!"
A blinding light pierced the sky. Lv Yunsheng was sent flying like a sharp arrow. BANG! BANG! He slammed onto the terrace with two heavy thuds, then lay on the ground, motionless.
’I won!’
Seeing that Lv Yunsheng didn’t get up, Cai Ji proudly lifted his head and looked toward Shangguan Yiran on the Cloud Platform directly ahead. He hoped that the fairy of his heart had witnessed his powerful display and would spare him a glance.
But just as he looked toward Shangguan Yiran, a shadow fell over him. A figure had appeared right in front of him.
"Roaring Forest!"
It turned out Lv Yunsheng had only been pretending to be unconscious. With a great roar, he thrust out a palm strike. The overwhelming force of the blow carried with it a world-shaking tiger’s roar.
"PFFT!"
Caught completely off guard, Cai Ji took the heavy blow head-on. Several crimson Blood Arrows shot from his mouth as he was sent flying high into the air, tracing a perfect arc.
And just as he was about to hit the ground...
Lv Yunsheng’s figure flickered, and he was in front of him again. Giving him no chance to counterattack, he struck out with another palm, which whistled as it cut through the air.
"BOOM!"
Cai Ji was sent flying high once more, landing heavily off the terrace.
"Lv Yunsheng is the victor!"
Zhao Wufeng’s voice rang out from the side, announcing the result of the match.
Below the terrace, Cai Ji staggered to his feet. He glared viciously at Lv Yunsheng, indignant. "You... you played dead!"
Lv Yunsheng wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and, looking down from his high position, smirked. "All’s fair in war!"
"You... you..."
Cai Ji was furious, but there was nothing he could do to change the outcome.
Next, several more pairs went up, but without exception, the prodigies from the Martial Arts Ranking all won without any suspense.
Shen Mo Feng, in particular, defeated his opponent in a single move without even unsheathing his saber, becoming the most dazzling person after the Ancient Sword Marquis.
After the last few matches, of all the geniuses from the East Continent, only Shen Daoxing and Lv Yunsheng had made it into the top sixteen.
"Will all disciples please come forward to draw a pouch."
With a flick of his sleeve, Zhao Wufeng once again produced a pile of brocade pouches in his hands.
Everyone came forward one by one to draw.
The Ancient Sword Marquis’s sword, however, flew out from nowhere. WHOOSH! It shot past Zhao Wufeng, pierced a brocade pouch, and pinned it to the Celestial Pride Stele at the side, revealing the character for "Five" inside.
’Please don’t be "Five"! Please don’t be "Five"!’
Lv Yunsheng hastily opened his pouch. Seeing the character for "Eight," he was instantly overjoyed. "Excellent! Who has ’Eight’?"
At that moment, Shen Mo Feng walked over. He glanced at Shen Daoxing, then at Lv Yunsheng, and held up the pouch in his hand.
Lv Yunsheng froze. On Shen Mo Feng’s pouch was, clear as day, the character for "Eight."
Lv Yunsheng clutched his head with both hands, a look of utter despair on his face. "Why is it Shen Mo Feng? He’s the second-ranked expert on the Martial Arts Ranking! How am I supposed to fight him?"
Shen Daoxing opened his own pouch and saw the character for "Six." He looked around and, to his surprise, saw a familiar figure: Crown Prince Chen Luo. And in his hand was a pouch with the very same character for "Six."
Crown Prince Chen Luo was startled by Shen Daoxing’s gaze. He looked at his own pouch, then at the one in Shen Daoxing’s hand, and his face instantly turned pale with fright.
"Oh, Crown Prince Chen Luo, your opponent is Shen Daoxing? This one’s a guaranteed win for you!"
A prodigy from the Martial Arts Ranking standing nearby couldn’t help but feel envious upon seeing the pouch in Crown Prince Chen Luo’s hand.
In their eyes, people like Lv Yunsheng and Shen Daoxing were just outer disciples who hadn’t even made it onto the Martial Arts Ranking. They were surely no match for prodigies like themselves.
’Guaranteed win my ass!’
Crown Prince Chen Luo cursed inwardly.
